Hummer’s gone and Skilling’s back — sort of

The last time I drove a Hummer – in fact, the only time I’ve driven a Hummer – was in December 2006, when a team of us from the Chronicle went to Waseca, Minn., to cover Jeff Skilling’s arrival at federal prison.

Back in the Hummer’s heyday, Skilling was still a free man. Four of us – myself, a reporter and two photographers – flew to the southern Minnesota town of Waseca to cover the incarceration. A last-minute appeals court ruling delayed his arrival, and we all returned to Houston. By the time we landed, the appeals court had cleared the way for Skilling to report, and we literally hopped off our flight and booked the next one back to Minneapolis.

We arrived after midnight, and the only rental cars left were Hummer H3s. We got three of them, which became something of a joke around the small town of Waseca – the fleet of big city reporters rolling into town in their massive SUVs.

I can’t say I was impressed with the vehicle. It handled like a cinder block, but it was warm and roomy inside as I sat across from the prison, looking out at a frozen cornfield and blogging. (Our photographers weren’t so lucky. They had to stand out in the cold for hours.)